Fauna
Most of the animals inhabiting Tara are similar to (if not the same as) those on Earth. Some creatures (ravens, redwolves, mockingbirds, etc.) are much more intelligent than you might assume, or are hybrids or mutants of other animals. Others are truly fantastic (Rockworms, Wyverns, Basilisks, etc.) but are rare enough that they are often dismissed as tall tales. Aquatic Species * Blackfin: 'Whales are a rare sight on Tara. All but the largest and most clever have been devoured by Kraken. Blackfin (orcas) and Prowhead are still found in the waters off Land's End. The Blackfin is too clever to catch and is generally revered by coastal tribes like '''Teneu,'who actually cooperate with them when hunting seals. Prowhead are hunted for their meat and blubber as far south as '''Seawall. * Kraken: 'Kraken are gargantuan seamonsters found in the deep southern oceans. Each of their eight, mile long tentacles has its own brain. They bleed black ink instead of blood. The'Mer 'of '''Ys '''actually hunt these monsters, luring them near the rocky shore just before low tide and beaching them. They are responsible for devouring most of Tara's whales. * '''Undine: '''a vaguely humanoid sea creature inhabiting reefs and atolls, only a sailor whose wits had been fried by the Sun would mistake them for human. Fortunately for the Undines there are enough such men that these monsters rarely go hungry. * '''Leviathan: '''Massive hammerhead whales with armored skulls and encrusted with razor sharp barnacles, Leviathans are queerly intelligent beasts found only in the southernmost oceans. Their keening songs are quite beautiful and they are surprisingly gentle beings. During mating season males and females spar by butting heads (and occasionally mistake large ships for mates). Reptiles * '''Basilisk:'The smallest Basilisk is maybe 30 ft. long, and they only get bigger as they age (it is thought that they live so long because they shed their skins). They will eat anything they can overpower, killing by constriction and using their venom to paralyze, but do not go out of their way to find prey (let alone humans). Instead they merely wait to ambush a hapless meal, digesting them over a matter of weeks. A basilisk's skin is quite beautiful and highly sought after as leather. They are native to Yavanna, Ys, and the Nesoi Isles, preferring the dank humidity of the tropics, but have been found in private menageries as far and wide as Tiberium and Amaranth. * 'Wyvern:'Often mistaken for dragons, wyverns are lesser beasts. They are much smoother and more serpentine, with a gangrenous bite, lacking forelimbs, and instead of a dragon's jeweled coat of scales their skins are as luridly colored as a tree frog. They are warmblooded creatures not capable of breathing fire or even true flight; instead they glide on volcanic thermals and spend days climbing back up into their eyries. They also lack a dragon's raw intelligence, at best mustering a vulture-like cunning and hunting in "broods". Wyverns are originally native to Vaalbara, where they nested in its floating mountains, but have since spread to Ys and Yavanna. They are carnivorous, preferring to hunt in wetlands, but are scavengers first and foremost (even cannibalizing their own dead). Dragons are a wyvern's only predator, and likely the reason why they are so afraid of fire. Ironically dragon eggs are their favorite meal, and they will sacrifice their whole brood just to get at a dragon's''clutch.'' ** Elves managed to tame these beasts but never rode them, treating them much like a favorite hawk. Although they made terrifying beasts of war (diving out of the sky, their screams driving men and horses mad with fear) they were first trained to take out dragons, overwhelming them with sheer numbers and tearing out their vulnerable eyes and tongues. * 'Dragons:'No mere beast, a dragon is the world's apex predator, and everything beneath its wings is prey. They are just as intelligent (if not more so) than humans, but are utterly alien beings, driven by greed and cruelty. During the'Last Endings'they burned much of'Tiberium'into ashes, and spawned uncontrollably (eventually cannibalizing each other as prey grew scarce) before going back into a long hibernation. Any permanent settlements were razed to the ground just for the sake of marking their territory (this is why Dwarves have always lived underground, Elves hide in their sanctuaries, and mankind is stuck in a dark age). For their part dragons see themselves as maintaining the "natural order", culling lesser races every few millennia lest they upset the old balance of the world. Unsurprisingly, throughout history many cultures have worshiped them as gods. ** Biology: A dragon can live practically forever if they are not killed outright, hibernating for centuries and growing bigger and more virile with age (though their scales lose their luster). They sleep hanging upside-down like bats and are often mistaken for giant stalactites (which grow on them like barnacles). Their bones are carbon black and hard as diamond yet incredibly light; all parts of a dragon (bone, eggs, heartstrings, scales, teeth, organs, etc.) are highly prized luxuries. Their blood is highly corrosive and even flammable, capable of eating through steel plate or melting stone, and congeals into a tarry pitch. Dragons reproduce asexually in''clutches;a single clutch might contain thousands of eggs. Only a handful will hatch; the rest are consumed by hatchlings, who then devour each other. ** Trivia: Only a fool would try to ride one; a Tiberian Magister once tried taming a hatchling, keeping it chained in the'Crucible,'but the beast devoured dozens of slaves and almost burned the arena to the ground before being put to death (along with its master). The Elves deliberately tried to wipe out dragons, seeing them as a long-term threat to their survival, and were quite successful.'Note that the names of dragons were given to them by other races; their true names are unpronounceable. *** Coronis(false sun):'''According to human legends Coronis is a beast that devours the Sun, causing the eclipse. His scale flash like tarnished copper, and his black eyes are rimmed with gold fire. In reality he is very old, and somewhat toothless by dragon standards, forced to scavenge and bully wyverns, and likes rolling around in lava fields. Only the Elves remember this monster's deeds; how he harassed Giants (stealing their mammoths and torching whole herds of aurochs), his game of wits with the Pan, and how he burned the Oldgrowth out of pure spite. *** '''Yyrha(widow): Her whole clutch of eggs was smashed by the Elvish dragonslayer'Findas,'who also slayed her hatchlings and castrated her mate,Reagh.'Findas stole one of her eggs and raised it, naming it'Ismene.'Ismene devoured him when he tried to ride her, before being slain herself.'Yyrha'ate Findas' prize wyvern,'Troad,'''and all his offspring. *** '''Troad(trickster):'Although popularly remembered as a dragon, Troad was actually a wyvern bred for incredible cunning, and lorded over a brood of several dozen offspring. He was bred and trained by the Elf hero'Findas'to hunt dragons, and famously wore armor carved from real dragonbones. Troad had a special taste for dragon eggs, and helped distract'Yyrha'while Findas murdered her unborn children. He was burned and eaten alive by'Yyrha. *** Charops(ravenous maw):'an unusually friendly dragon who was given enormous tribute (herds of livestock, vast hunting grounds, piles of shiny trinkets) by the Tiberians, in return for strategic advice. He would fly over their enemies, spying on their armies movements, though he rarely busied himself with actual fighting. He choked to death on an elephant's legbone, but by then was too fat to even fly. Mammals * '''Hart:'A white stag native to Ur's forests, the Hart has an impressive crown of antlers and is considered the "king" of all woodland beasts. Unfortunately, he is such popular game that he is nearly extinct, his rarity making him all the more highly prized by hunters. * 'Redwolf:'If the Hart is the king of the forest then the Redwolf is its jester. A fiendishly clever beast, a Redwolf resembles a hybrid of a fox and wolf in size and coloring. Because they are so elusive their pelts are greatly treasured by huntsmen. There are many tales of Redwolves turning the tables on noble hunters, luring them deep into the woods where they lame their horse or lose their bearings, leading them into the path of a hungry bear, or tricking archers into shooting their friends. * 'Shadowcat:'An agile, stealthy, and powerful creature the Shadowcat is a vicious predator that prowls in the branches overhead and stalks its prey for days on end. It is nocturnal, sleeping all day high above the forest floor. Shadowcats are graceful climbers despite their enormous size. Birds * '''Cockatrice: a three-headed rooster, found in the southern isles, and usually attributed by sailors to have strange powers (it doesn't). * Mockingjay:'''a peculiarly clever bird, mockingjays can be taught to mimic sounds and even parrot voices, words, and phrases, literally carrying messages. However, they cannot knowingly withhold information, so many kings keep paid hawkers to cull their numbers. An old wive's tale has it that the Elves taught the birds to speak, and the birds taught the Elves to sing. '''Invertebrates * Marrowleech:'''a tiny leech that swells to enormous size (sometimes as big as a child). If left untreated it can suck a man dry of fluids, right down to his bone marrow. Some cults use them for sacrificial bloodletting. * '''Glowworms: * 'Siltwalker:'A nightmarish crustacean taller than most men, walking on stilt-like legs, with two pairs of scything forelimbs. They tend to dwell in swamps and estuaries where there is an abundance of fresh prey. Siltwalkers are ambush predators and can stay perfectly still for days on end (often posing in such a way that they resemble a bare tree), waiting to grab some hapless creature and eat it alive. They devour their mates and rivals, decapitating them. * 'Rockworm:'An enormous, armored worm that bores through the planet's crust, Rockworms can be miles long and when they're close to the surface they are often mistaken for tremors or earthquakes. Only three have are known to exist and their territory is enormous (perhaps 1/3 of the entire planet for each worm). The Deeproads - a warren of subterranean tunnels and highways - were carved out by these beasts; the waste they expelled provided nutrients for a rich, thriving ecosystem (glowing fungi, smaller parasite worms, cave bats, blind fish, etc.). They are attracted to seismic vibrations, which they assume to be other worms they can mate with. The Dwarves learned to exploit this, building giant hammers that brought the worms close to the surface, and then trapped them using sonic booms. Although the worms could not be tamed they could be summoned (and enraged) and given some direction. Legendary Allfathers are said to have harnessed Rockworms, using them to dig new tunnels or bring down mountains. Rockworms have a lot of symbolic importance to the Dwarves.